California prepares for Hurricane Hilary
Southern California has been issued its first-ever tropical storm watch as “large and powerful” Hurricane Hilary takes aim at Mexico and the region over the next 48 hours.
The National Hurricane Center says that the watch is unprecedented for the region and Hilary is expected to bring heavy rain and the risk of flash flooding from the Baja California peninsula all the way north to Nevada.
As of Friday, the hurricane was located about 360 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph.
“It is rare — indeed nearly unprecedented in the modern record — to have a tropical system like this move through Southern California,” Greg Postel of the Weather Channel told CBS News.
The last time a tropical storm hit California was 1939, before they were even given names and the state has been hit by sub-tropical storms in the years since. Forty-five people died in that storm, most from drowning.
The hurricane is expected to hit Baja Mexico over the weekend and weaken and arrive in Southern California as a tropical storm on Sunday evening.
“Right now, it’s looking like we’ll still have a tropical storm when it moves into Southern California, but it’s going to be weakening pretty quickly,” said meteorologist Brandt Maxwell, of the National Weather Service.
Hurricane Hilary Heads Toward Southern California
Hurricane Hilary Heads Toward Southern California
Graeme Massie18 August 2023 20:17
Hurricane Hilary takes aim at Mexico
General view of the Medano beach before the arrival of hurricane Hilary at Los Cabos resort in Baja California state, Mexico on August 18, 2023.
(AFP via Getty Images)
General view of the Medano beach before the arrival of hurricane Hilary at Los Cabos resort in Baja California state, Mexico on August 18, 2023.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Graeme Massie18 August 2023 20:01
Mexico prepares for arrival of Hurricane Hilary
General view of the Medano beach before the arrival of hurricane Hilary at Los Cabos resort in Baja California state, Mexico on August 18, 2023.
(AFP via Getty Images)
People observe the sea before the arrival of hurricane Hilary at Los Cabos resort in Baja California state, Mexico on August 18, 2023.
(AFP via Getty Images)
A family walks on the Medano beach before the arrival of hurricane Hilary at Los Cabos resort in Baja California state, Mexico on August 18, 2023.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Graeme Massie18 August 2023 19:46
Southern California gets first ever tropical storm watch
Hurricane #Hilary Advisory 9: Hilary Remains a Powerful Category 4 Hurricane. Hurricane Warning Issued For Portions of Baja California And Tropical Storm Watch Issued For Extreme Southern California. https://t.co/Oy8uoeSibM
— NHC Eastern Pacific (@NHC_Pacific) August 18, 2023
Graeme Massie18 August 2023 19:35
Hurricane Hilary may dump more than a year’s worth of rain on the southwest
Tropical storms have only touched down in California a few times in the last century.
Graeme Massie18 August 2023 19:25
Southern California gets first ever tropical storm watch as Hurricane Hilary approaches
Hilary expected to bring heavy rain and the risk of flash flooding from the Baja California peninsula all the way to Nevada.
Graeme Massie18 August 2023 19:14
Welcome to Hurricane Hilary blog
This is a live blog that will follow Hurricane Hilary as it moves onshore in Mexico and pushes into the US over the weekend.
Graeme Massie18 August 2023 19:12
